Question #41612
posted on 12/19/2007 3:01 a.m.
Q:
Dear 100 Hour Board,
Where would you define the line between someone who's hard working and someone who's a workaholic? Do you know of anyone that works 12+ hours a day, through weekends and holidays, and likes it that way?
- plant overlord
A:
Dear plant ~
During fall, my dad works at least 16 hours a day. Through holidays and weekends. (Though, not Sundays.) During the spring and summer, that number goes down, but I wouldn't be surprised if it was still 12 hours a day at times. During the winter, he goes down to the normal 8 hours per day. If you asked him, he probably wouldn't say he liked it. But he does enjoy it enough that he has done it for the majority of his life. And he will probably continued to work like this until retirement. And when he retires, I cannot fathom him just sitting around doing nothing. He will just refocus his attention on genealogy. And that he will work all day, every day, much more than 12 hours a day, through weekends and holidays. And he will like it. No, he will love it.
I would say my dad is hard-working, perhaps bordering on workaholic. Where's the line between them? I would say hard-working is someone who puts all of their effort into work. (People can work lots of hours and still get nothing done. That is not hard-working.) They do their best to get the job done. They do their best to provide for their family. Workaholic is a misplacement of priorities. Someone who puts work ahead of family, church responsibilities, etc. A workaholic keeps working far after werf has filled werf's needed hours and has provided for werf's family. A workaholic works for the simple fact of working, and will keep doing it ... just because.
~ Dragon Lady
During fall, my dad works at least 16 hours a day. Through holidays and weekends. (Though, not Sundays.) During the spring and summer, that number goes down, but I wouldn't be surprised if it was still 12 hours a day at times. During the winter, he goes down to the normal 8 hours per day. If you asked him, he probably wouldn't say he liked it. But he does enjoy it enough that he has done it for the majority of his life. And he will probably continued to work like this until retirement. And when he retires, I cannot fathom him just sitting around doing nothing. He will just refocus his attention on genealogy. And that he will work all day, every day, much more than 12 hours a day, through weekends and holidays. And he will like it. No, he will love it.
I would say my dad is hard-working, perhaps bordering on workaholic. Where's the line between them? I would say hard-working is someone who puts all of their effort into work. (People can work lots of hours and still get nothing done. That is not hard-working.) They do their best to get the job done. They do their best to provide for their family. Workaholic is a misplacement of priorities. Someone who puts work ahead of family, church responsibilities, etc. A workaholic keeps working far after werf has filled werf's needed hours and has provided for werf's family. A workaholic works for the simple fact of working, and will keep doing it ... just because.
~ Dragon Lady